Well, the GRE is done. Who knows what will happen next? The only thing I know is that, based on my practice and on the real thing, I probably should have gone into the math field. Not gonna happen now. I'm glad it's over. I'm going to lunch with Kim as per our usual Thursday event. I'm starving, and tonite I'll probably have a drink or two to fry the brain cells that are storing any analogy information.

I'm just about finished with my bands page, in which you'll be able to click on any band name listed there and find a bio and discography. It may not sound like a lot, but it was a lot of work. So feel free to check it out if you want to know about some of the music I like.

Hey, how about those Jays finishing up on a strong note? They will finish above .500 for the season, which is something to start with for next season, after adding some pitching. As for the Bengals, I predict they will win outright this Sunday. No point spread, just win. As for the Cuse, well they'll lose to Toledo by 14.

I may post more tonite since I'll probably be bored. Maybe I'll be inebriated when I blog for the first time.

Listening to the Blue Album. Brings back memories of, well, I don't know, but it's one of my favorite cds. I just submitted my app to grad school online, only to find out I still have to write yet another essay for a scholarship. That will not be completed until after I find out whether I'm accepted into the school or not. It's due by May 1st, so I have time.

Last night, I took Kim here for her bday dinner. It was pretty good, but there was hardly anyone there besides us.

SATURNINE:

A) magnanimous
B) ebullient
C) finicky
D) unnatural
E) impoverished

Sorry, but all this studying is making me crazy. On my final practice test, I did not do very well on the verbal, but quite well on quantitative. Pretty strange for one who enjoys writing. The part I thought would be the easiest turned out to be the worst. There's a part where you fill in two blanks in a sentence using context, and just about every one has two close answers according to the book, and I picked the one that wasn't the best fit for every answer. I did well on the antonyms and reading, with some trouble on analogies. The math surprised me. I was happy I did well, though. I took my time and it paid off, making sure I checked all possibilities, like the book said. So today, I will study some more-brush up on the math formulas once more, and look over some word roots. Tomorrow equals rest and no studying.

Here's to the Seattle Seahawks for being 3-0, and so far, living up to my surprise team label in my scholarly NFL predictions.

Happy Birthday, Kim! I've written you a bunch of songs in the past, but the following song seems as personal as a song I could have written for you today. So here's the lyrics, since I don't think you'd want me to sing them:

The Luckiest
lyrics by Ben Folds

i don't get many things right the first time
in fact, i am told that a lot
now i know all the wrong turns,
the stumbles and falls brought me here
and where was i before the day
that i first saw your lovely face
now i see it everyday
and i know
that i am, i am
i am the luckiest
what if i'd been born
fifty years before you
in a house
on the street where you live
maybe i'd be outside
as you passed on your bike
would i know?
in a wide sea of eyes
see one pair that i recognize
and i know
that i am, i am
i am the luckiest
love you more than i have
ever found a way to say to you
next door
there's an old man
who lived into his nineties
and one day passed away in his sleep
and his wife, she stayed
for a couple of days and passed away
i'm sorry i know that's a
strange way to tell you that i know
we belong
that i know
that i am, i am
i am the luckiest

What you need is motivation. About those TPS reports, did ya get the memo?
Sorry, those were moments from Office Space.

I'm sorry about your shitty company, Kev. Have any job openings?

I added some more links on the left. Nothing you probably haven't seen before, just stuff that's been blogged about before. I was bored and needed a break from studying.

I'm listening to this band Camden right now. They're very mellow, almost like my boys, The Appleseed Cast, but not quite as good.

I strolled around my hood to investigate any damage from that whirling bitch, and not much. But that hurricane didn't do much damage either. The only thing I noticed was someone's gutter bent into a "u" shape around their front porch post. Lots of leaves and twigs, but nothing to get worked up about.

Well, folks, it's pizza nite. Enjoy the weekend.

Just got back from lunch with Kim. She had a break after her morning classes and before her night class. Rob, I'm sorry to hear about your wallet. That sucks horribly. Thanks for the advice on the practice tests. I am taking some practice tests in the book I purchased, and they are difficult, but hopefully, my brain will expand the more I study, and take in what I'm getting wrong. As far as the movies, I've only seen Pirates thus far, but didn't plan on seeing Jeepers or Dickie anytime soon. I would definitely recommend my first mentioned as well. Yarr.

Good news is that the advisor from MSU mailed me back and gave me news I wanted to hear. I also got a response from my fave professor from WP, and he is willing to give me a recommendation. Nice.

I'm thinking about Den & Matt right now in NC and hoping things are OK...

I finished a very good book last night. I highly recommend it if you want to read a good thriller. I don't read many horror works, but this one gave me the creeps at times. Probably the fastest I've ever read a book. I think I read it in 3 days. I had mentioned a book before in this blog about a month ago, which was the book I read before the above mentioned. It royally sucked, and I still don't understand the beginning that I blogged about.

I put a new welcome picture on my site. The link's on the left. Other than that, not much else is new. I haven't written any new songs, but I'm working on an idea for a short story. As I type, the wind is whirling thru the vent in my ac. I don't know, when I was outside, it just feels erie. Yeah, it's windy, but it feels like there's some supernatural power. There's a tingling on my skin and my hands felt sweaty. Weird.

I'm going to eat now. Bye.

Dude, the GRE is making me crazy. I got one of those practice books yesterday to aid in my studies/practice, but man, it just made me more worried. Some of the words are absolutely ridiculous. So I've got a lot of work to do before next Thursday. I read and studied a lot last night, but my brain is fried so far today, and I can't really concentrate well.

I emailed the advisor at Montclair State and asked him some questions I had about grad school. Hopefully he'll reply with things I want to hear. My plan if I'm accepted into the school is to pursue Communication Arts, which could entail either Public Relations or Speech Communication. I'm hoping that upon completion, I may be able to teach either high school communication classes or college courses. If not, then I may continue with this education fiasco and pursue a doctorate. Yeah. You can call me doctor, bitch. Well, first I have to actually get into the school. So I'm just hoping to pass this test first.

Everyone say hi to Kev. I was just asking about him not too long ago, when I was listening to an Everclear cd. He was my everclear buddy in high school. The band, not the alcohol. Welcome!

OK, so I'm really bored today. In the last issue of SI, there was an article on anagrams for sports teams and players, etc. So I went to the site that the writer used and found some anagrams for my name, such as Arab birth drunk and Rabbi drank thru. So feel free to goof around. It gives you a mess of possibilities.

The weekend is over. Today it's gloomy, and we might get hit by a hurricane on Friday... Happy Birthday, Mom! Sorry I never posted, but it was Saturday, and I didn't blog then or yesterday. The Bengals lost again, but this one was a heartbreaker. The game was theirs, but like I said before, they don't know how to win a game. At least Pitt got fucking dismantled!

I'm applying for probably my last attempt at a teaching job in West Caldwell for a permanent sub position in 4th grade. I've got experience with this, plus they advertise a benefits package. It would be from Nov-June. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I must purchase Family Guy Vol. 2 on DVD. Anyone have 40 bucks I can borrow?

I intend to clean my basement today. I don't know why, but I have nothing better to do. Throw away old junk, give away useful games and/or toys, etc. I don't mind the getting rid of stuff part, but I'm afraid of monstrous spiders or something attacking me when I remove our copy of Clue from the old bookshelf, which has accumulated 11 years of dust.

I rose bright and early at 6:30 to start my day, unfortunately, it was at the dentist's office. One of the places I have learned to hate as I have gotten older(or wiser). They started by putting me through a series of about 16 X-rays. Normally, there's 4 that they take, but these kept coming. I thought they were taking an X-ray of each tooth, but they finally stopped. Then the hygienist began scraping and poking at my teeth and gums. I know everyone knows this pain, but have you ever seriously looked at the instruments they use? Those things are evil. Every tool had a sharp point except for the angled mirror, which instead had several sharp points. Really, this one used a jagged piece of glass for its mirror. Anyway, at least she was gentle and I didn't have any cavities. On my way out, I stop to see the receptionist. "How's March 16th sound?" Great, but I'm sure something will come up between now and the six months that come between then.

Has anyone else seen this Hi-C commercial with the dancing penis? Oh, wait that's supposed to be a tongue?

just a ponderance...where do they come up with these ads atop the page. i just saw further seems forever and stain remover. What do the 2 have in common?

You're damn right it's nice of me! Fuckin' A!

Holy crap! I'm officially applying to grad school. I'm scheduled to take my GRE on Thursday, September 25. [Gulp] I began filling out my app, and filled out my FAFSA in hopes of getting this shizzy going. I still have to get references, transcripts, pass the GRE, and send everything in, but I'm definitely motivated. I hope I can do it, and everything works out well.

I thoroughly cleaned my car today inside and out. I washed it, scrubbed the tires, vacuumed, cleaned the windows, and polished up the vinyl. I could not, however get all of the tar off the bottom of the car by the wheels. I used that bug & tar cleaner, but it's embedded in the paint job I guess. My trunk has a tendency of leaking, so I also vacuumed out a puddle of water beneath my spare tire. It's pretty gross actually. The water gets all slimy and my jack and tire iron rusted pretty fiercely.

I'm gonna go now, because I'm meeting Kim for some lunch/dinner before her night class.

I attended a meeting at GHT last night because our season starts this Saturday, and came back with an abundance of mosquito bites and scratches on my arm. I guess someone decided to play a little Wiffle ball before our meeting started, and the ball went into the shrubbery about 100 times, and each time I reached in, I came out with battlescars on my arms. So I'm quite itchy this morning, but trying not to scratch.

I want to go back to school to work on my master's, but I don't know what to master. I'm actually contemplating nixing the whole teaching area and going into public relations/speech/linguistics. Not all 3, but one of those. My major was in interpersonal communication. I have lots of forms to fill out, and still have to take my GRE.

I'm going to post the very last part of my story, but I also think it's still weak. I like the ending, but as far as how to write it better and explain things more clearly, I'm still working on it. So hope you liked it if you read it.



Corey’s court date was a month later. I didn’t go to the hearing. Corey was found guilty. There were traces of blood found at the murder scenes that matched his. Now he’s in jail, probably waiting for the death penalty down the road, and I’m living happily with Sammy.

Isn’t love blind? Now I’m living with Sammy and my ex-boyfriend is in jail for my crimes. Corey didn’t really kill anyone. I did. Erika, Ashley, and Josie hurt my Sammy, and Andy stayed with that bitch Josie. I had been with Sammy since Josie broke it off with him. I knew him well now, and knew he was hurt. They deserved what they got.

Like I said, Corey was careless. He drove recklessly, and was always late for school. He was always injuring himself-cutting himself. How could you not find his blood? I found plenty of it, and found good uses for it as well. Now tell me, is love blind or is justice blind?

The bloggers' football teams are a combined 1-3 after the opening weekend. Is this a sign of things to come? Yeah, probably. Den, did you happen to see the Cuse/UNC game on Saturday? It wasn't televised up here, but it seemed like a pretty awesome game from the score and stats. I know the outcome wasn't what you would have liked, but exciting nonetheless. As for fans in Bengaldom, their sheer stupidity goes along with the ineptness of the team the past decade. I've been hearing some fans wanted coach Lewis to put in Palmer because Kitna was awful, but Palmer wasn't even active. He's not going to play until their season is officially over, like after 8 games or so maybe, when they'll be 2-6 or 1-7. The team itself is the same old story. They get down by 20 points in the first half, and the game is over, because their offense doesn't know how to win a game. Pathetic.

I got a Hey Mercedes poster in the mail today for their new album, but I don't know why. I'm not complaining though... Where's Kevin when you need him? I'm actually listening to an old Everclear cd right now. Well, here's the next part of my story:



I quietly scaled the stairs and slipped into my room. I grasped a business card and dialed Andy’s uncle. I whispered to him that I suspected the killer to be in my house. Corey must have heard the phone click down because he came running into my room to see whom I was talking to. I said nobody. I lied. He knew I lied. He looked at me funny. I asked him how the chicken was coming along. He said good, but he cut his finger again. He always cut his finger. He was careless. He just stood there, holding the knife tightly, looking at me in puzzlement.

Boom! The front door collapsed. The police barreled into my room and whisked Corey away in cuffs. They had saved me for now. Andy’s uncle comforted me and told me everything would be OK now. I know. Two of my best friends were murdered, and I stopped him from killing again.

Today I went job hunting yet again, but realized once again that the mall is a horrible place. Not much accomplished again. I ate tuna for lunch. I've really grown to like tuna over the years, but still can't get over the fact that it comes in a can. I'm finally able to just pretend that it's not cat food. I remember the first time I tried the tuna that's vacuum sealed in the pouches, but that made it seem even worse-tuna in a bag? Anyway, it's eaten.

While on my journeys, I picked up a frame from Linens and Things for my autographed Face to Face poster. Well, when I tried putting the poster in, I noticed the interior part of the glass was gritty and dirty somehow, so I took it out to clean it off with some glass cleaner. Upon cleaning the surface, I found that the cleaner only removed the grime, but there was still streaks and blotches on the glass I could not remove. So I tried to put the glass back into the frame, but somehow it did not fit. I was able to remove it, but it seemed impossible to get back. So I tried pushing the little metal clasps(the ones that keep the cardboard and picture in the frame) as flush against the wood as possible, since I realized the glass was hitting them. After completing this task and brutalizing my thumb with the pushing, the glass fits, only to shatter seconds later. I don't know how it broke, but it did. So now there's a corner of the frame that just cracked right away from the rest of the glass. I cut three of my fingers during this fiasco, and decided that i was not going throw out the frame. I took some household cement(the same stuff that failed to hold my rearview mirror) and applied it to the shards of glass. I set them in place, so hopefully it will hold. The glass will still have two cracks that will be obvious, but right now, if it holds, I'll be happy. I have to wait till tomorrow to put the poster in, though.

Well, it's the weekend, and it's actually really nice outside. Woo! Pizza tonite. Here's the next part of the story:



I started seeing things in my mind. Erika and Ashley. Andy and Josie. Then I saw Corey. What did Corey have to do with them? He knew Andy and Josie, but what did that mean, and what about Erika and Ashley?

The six o’clock hour rolled around and I was actually getting hungry. My grumbling stomach told Corey. He said he’d help me put something together for dinner. We had to eat something, otherwise we’d feel worse. I looked in the freezer to find ice cream, waffles, and a package of chicken cutlets. We decided to have some chicken.

I went to the basement to find something to eat with the chicken—creamed corn or some slop like that in a can. I never wanted Corey down there because it was a disaster. My parents left it in shambles when they moved into a new house. I was embarrassed by the mess. He started preparing the chicken.

After selecting my canned vegetable of choice, I made my way back up the stairs. I caught a glimpse of Corey in the kitchen holding a knife. The thinking resumed. I saw things in my mind going in reverse order, like when rewinding a video tape while watching it. The tape froze. Play. Before Corey and I got together, Corey tried to win over Erika and Ashley. He was desperate before I met him. He wanted a girlfriend so badly, and I gave him a chance. Was the killer in my house? Was he making chicken in my house with a very sharp knife?

I almost forgot a very important thing to talk about today. I know the other bloggers here either don't care for hockey, or are devils fans, but I am a Rangers fan, and not the best hockey fan, but I was a huge fan of this man. And if you believe otherwise, look at the poster on my wall of the man from his first NHL season, where he didn't have the modern mask with all the painted designs on it. It will be a sad time for me at 3:00 pm today, when Mike Richter announces his retirement. I may shed a tear because I'm a big puss, but the man was the New York Rangers for the past decade. Sure, you can argue with Messier, but Richter was huge in their 94 playoff run, and may not have been one of the best goalies in the league over the years, but he was one of the best in Rangers history, in terms of victories. On top of all this, he was born in the U.S., so that makes it even better that he had a good career and wasn't born in Slovakia or some other European country. Now that I've babbled for quite some time, I will wrap this up. Here's to you, Mr. Richter.

It's officially September. You know why? When I drive down Broad Street, there's dozens of hoodlums standing outside the deli by the high school. I never quite understood the phenomena. Let's stand clustered really close together and smoke cigarettes in the rain ouside of a deli. Yeah, that's hardcore. A deli that's right next door to a florist. I don't know.

Tonight kicks off the NFL season. I don't care about the Redskins/Jets, however. Here's my predictions for the NFL season:

Bengals finish 6-10 with wins over denver, baltimore, arizona, houston, pitt, and st. louis. i'm hoping for better, but don't expect it. i have every right not to. it's been 12 years without playoffs.

NFC North: Packers, Vikings, Lions, Bears
NFC East: Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Redskins
NFC South: Bucs, Falcons, Panthers, Saints
NFC West: Rams, Seahawks(my surprise team), 49ers, Cards
Wild Card=Falcons, Giants
NFC Champ Game:Eagles over Falcons

AFC North: Browns, Steelers, Ravens, Bengals
AFC East: Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, Jets
AFC South: Titans, Colts, Jags, Texans
AFC West: Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, Chargers
Wild Card: Bills, Raiders
AFC Champ Game: Titans over Patriots
Super Bowl: Titans over Eagles
*disclaimer: Do not use these as your own picks, or you will burn in hell and be ridiculed enormously. The author has no clue about picking football standings. This is all in good fun.

OK, now that's over. Here's the next part of my story:

I woke up at about ten on Saturday morning. I probably would have slept through Saturday completely, but the doorbell woke me up. It was the police.

“Hello, Miss, I’m Officer Taylor, Andy’s uncle. I was informed that you were a friend of Josie and Andy.”

“Yes, wh--what’s happened?”

“Well, Miss,” he paused and I noticed his adam’s apple bob in his throat, as if he was swallowing back something. “They were found dead this morning.” His eyes watered. “I’m very sorry. If there’s anything I can do…Here’s my card. Please take care, and we promise we will end this case soon. I will make sure of that. I’m so sorry.”

I cried and closed the door lightly. I slid to the floor with my back to the door. I picked up the phone to call Corey. I couldn’t compose myself enough to be comprehendible, however. I finally was able to spit out in blurts, “Corey…need…you…here.” He was at the door when the I hung up the phone. He came over and tried to comfort me. I weeped in his arms for what seemed to be hours. He seemed very uneasy about the situation as well. He shook at times, and choked back tears often, as he and Andy were becoming closer as friends.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said.

“Me too, hon.”

“I mean, I’m getting a bad vibe right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I should go see if I can help Andy’s uncle. I want this creep put away now.”

“No, you can’t, please. I need you here. Don’t leave me.”

“All right, but I just wish this never happened. I wish I could go back in time or something to stop it. I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless.”

He was right. We quivered nervously for the rest of the afternoon. Every noise we heard caused a rush to see if the door was still locked, and with each click, chirp, or thud, I began to think more.

Hmm. I went job-hunting today. The fruits of my labor were not rewarded, however. The closest I got was an application for Modell's, and Kim hooked me up with the person in charge of personnel at her bank. The lady seemed nice, and told me to send in my resume, but she'll be away next week and probably won't get back to me until the following week. I went to Target, because they are opening a new store in nearby Clifton soon. I asked the lady at Guest Services, and she had no idea what I was talking about. She said you can apply on the computers. So I attempt to do the computer thing. First off, the computers were slow, and after I was halfway through, this error message came up, and I couldn't get out of it, so I just started pounding the keyboard. It finally took me back, and I was able to continue. When I was on the last part, it said these questions were optional, so I decided just to hit enter and move on. Suddenly, the screen pops up saying "Thank You" with that stupid Target dog. So I left. I was there for an hour with that stupid computer. I say I was done.

Here's an update on things I said I would bring up again: 1)my rearview mirror is indeed staying put on my windshield. I guess that kit worked for now. 2)my foot is still painful when I walk on it. Don't know what to do about it. Here's the next piece of my story. It's very short:



Andy and Josie were snuggling on her couch watching television. Even after the tragedies, they still managed to find comfort in each other. Friday night was a horrible night to be home. There was never anything on, except sometimes there were some good stand-up comics on cable. The couple managed to forget about the world and laughed at the comedy routines they witnessed. There was a pleasant variety of performers that gave the audience a chuckle. A short, plump male managed to coax the most laughter from the two. As the emcee was introducing the next comic, and a loud noise rumbled in Josie’s kitchen. The laughter had stopped.

If anyone knows of a place I can work full time, let me know please. God, I hate this. I spent several more hours on the Internet researching jobs I would be qualified for with a BA in Interpersonal Communication, and there's some things that don't sound too bad, but I can't suddenly become a copy writer or advertising specialist without experience. This is too depressing, and the 60 degrees and rain aren't helping either. I was actually contemplating going to one of those computer training schools for computer graphics and design stuff, but I would need money to pay for it, and a job to supply the money to pay for it, and if I had a job, I probably wouldn't want to do that anyway.

In other news, Roy Halladay owned the Yankees yesterday, and it was enjoyable watching the Jays win a game, since I hadn't seen them win on tv since the end of May probably. In a way, I kind of feel bad for Jeff Weaver. I don't like the Yankees, but if he was on another team that was mediocre, he wouldn't be scrutinized nearly as much. Yeah, he isn't very good, but when Josh Phelps blasted that 3-run homer in the 8th yesterday, Weaver's head just fell, and I actually felt sorry for him. The game was over anyway, because fat Wells allowed 5 runs before Weaver entered. Oh well.

Today doesn't feel like Tuesday to me. And it doesn't feel like September. It feels more like the middle of October. Dreary and chilly. Well, here's another part of my story:



Corey brought me to his house. I thought he was hiding something from me. He didn’t say much since Andy showed him the newspaper in the morning. I told him to take me to my home, since his absence of mind wasn’t contributing to any comfort for me. I would have been better off alone. Maybe I could clear my head and forget about things for a while.

Corey walked my to my door and made sure I was in before retreating back to his place. He ate some pizza and watched the game all night. He knew not to call when I ask him to be alone for a while. I always called him when I was ready.

It was six o’clock, so I watched the news when I got home. They reported that Sammy had apparently left town and the police couldn’t trace his whereabouts. He was gone. They fucked up. Commercial.

I was too worked up to eat dinner that night, so I continued to watch the science channel until about ten. I decided my eyes were tired at that point, so I went to sleep.

Happy Bday, Ord! My dad's the best. I had a new revelation for a job...I want to work in a hotel, and work my way up, so one day, I can travel to fun places and stay for free in part of the hotel chain I work for. That would be sweeeet. But in reality, I don't see it happening. I'm going to try my damnedist to make it happen though, since this teaching thing isn't calling me. I need a job with money and benefits right now, and subbing's not gonna do it for me. Well, I have the next part of my story:


On the ride home, I was dozing, but I do remember one thing-the radio. Corey always played around with the radio in the car, and rarely settled on a station for more than a song. This night was strange because he didn’t fuss around. He hit the preset channel 6 and news blared from his speakers all around my skull. Through all the commotion and vibrations of bass in his woofers, I do remember being awake when a reporter stated that Sammy was released because they didn’t have any evidence to contain him.

Corey’s car stopped. I was home. I hugged Corey and sleep-walked to my bed. I made sure to lock the door and secure the deadbolt. I slipped off my shirt and jeans and dove into a big t-shirt. I fell to my bed like and was nestled among my pillow friends.


The next afternoon, we all met at the usual spot in the student center. Andy came running in with that morning’s paper. “Someone else was murdered last night. It was Ashley Myers. She was found with a note. The same one that was with Erika.”

Josie cried out nervously, almost like a yelp. I put my hand over my mouth, trying to hold back my almost-vomit. This time, Andy wasn’t joking about the murder. He was shaken. He was almost in tears. Corey stood there, blankly staring at the paper.

“That Sammy’s one sick fucker,” screamed Andy. “It said they just released him, and he kills someone else.”

Josie’s mouth opened ever so slowly. It took a few tries of her quaking lips, but she finally spoke. “Ashley Myers was one of Sammy’s ex-girlfriends. I’m the last one he had. I’m next.” She took a jump step to run away, but Andy grabbed her.

“No you’re not,” he said. “I’m here and you’ll be safe. I promise.”

We adjourned our daily meeting earlier than normal on Friday. I don’t think anyone went to class that day. We all left. Andy and Josie went to her place.


“Andy, what’s happening?” Josie asked.

“Some guy named Sammy murdered two girls. That’s it.”

“And I’m next. What am I supposed to do? I can’t hide forever. He knows where I live. He knows too much about me.”

“Hon, I’m going to stay with you tonight, and until they catch him. I promise you will be OK. My uncle tells me the second case will only prove it was Sammy, so when they get a hold of him this time, he won’t be able to get away through some loophole. If there’s one person I can trust on the police force, it’s definitely my uncle. You know Uncle Trever is not going to bullshit me.”

“I know he wouldn’t b.s. you, but they still haven’t been able to find Sammy yet.”

“He’s as good as caught Jo.”